Now in its seventh year, Farmer’s Independent Research of Seed Technologies (F.I.R.S.T.) was originally created by Kevin Coey of Agronomic Seed Consulting, Inc. (AgSci) to generate data needed for the seed information products that they market. Since then it has become a premier third party resource for yield data in the United States. In its first year Coey planted 12 corn sites in Illinois, tested 64 hybrids and had 14 seed corn companies as sponsors. Since that time the program has expanded to include corn and soybean testing. Sites are planted in South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and the DelMarva region in Delaware and Maryland. What makes F.I.R.S.T. unique is that all of it’s 500 plus hybrids were tested on farms in over 25,000 mini test strips – not in special research plots. "Besides university and seed company yield reports, this is another tool to help you make seed purchase decisions," Coey says. "The use of F.I.R.S.T. data as a sales tool is very important because of our independence."

In 2002, F.I.R.S.T. tested high-yielding hybrids supplied by 70 major seed companies in 10 states. As one of those companies, LG Seeds is proud to say that their hybrids were among the top performing hybrids tested. Out of the 25 F.I.R.S.T. regions, LG had hybrids entered in 20 of those. Even more, an LG Seeds hybrid placed in the top 10 of all hybrids tested in 14 of the 20 regions they were entered. That’s pretty impressive when you consider that each region tested anywhere between 36-72 hybrids. "The data from 2002 is significant when considering the high yield potential west of the Mississippi compared to the more stressful environments you find in the east" says Coey. He continues "Consistency in hybrid performance is key when sorting through all the data. When a hybrid is a top performer no matter where it is placed, that is an impressive accomplishment." LG’s highest placing hybrid in their arsenal, LG2540, is one of those hybrids. It was top of list in the INCE region, and ended up in the top 5 in each of the ILWC, ILSO, ILEC, IANW, IANC and IAEC regions.

LG2540 is not the only LG Seeds hybrid that earned top honors in the F.I.R.S.T. trials in 2002. "LG2533 and LG2585 are two superior hybrids that compete with LG2540 to be the top hybrid in our lineup this year" says Travis Dollarhide, Agronomy and Product Development Manager for LG Seeds. He adds, "In areas where LG2540 was not the highest yielding hybrid, one of these two took its place." And the proof is in the data. LG2533 placed in the top 10 in five of the F.I.R.S.T regional summaries for 2002. Winning the MNSW region and the Yieldgard Corn Borer^® version placed first in the Western Siouxland region. While LG2585 finished as a top 10 hybrid in each of the IAEC, IANW and INCE regions.

At LG Seeds, they are proud to be a progressive seed company for the new millennium. Their mission is clear when you consider the "First In The Field" slogan they adopted three years ago. "Adding profit to your business, that’s the mission behind LG Seeds. ‘First In The Field’ is the resources, products and support that you can count on to add value to your farm" says General Manager, Craig Anderson. "We have a strong, diversified corn lineup that is specifically designed to yield more profit to your farming operation."